This essay is based on a conversation with Faith Choo27, who left Singapore’s public health system and now works as a locum doctor. The following text has been edited for length and clarity. Business Insider has verified her employment history.
Since I was 13, I knew I wanted to be a doctor.
I was inspired by my parents, who are also doctors. They find great fulfillment in their profession. Although they have been working as doctors for over 30 years, they still enjoy doing it.
But it was also my parents who tried to dissuade me from a career in medicine. They told me horror stories about what it was really like to be a doctor and warned me about how stressful it could be.
However, their careers continued to inspire me deeply and I decided to move on.
Studying medicine was fun but exhausting
Choo (right) completed her medical studies in 2021. Faith Choo
The first two years of medical school felt like high school. There was a lot of studying and memorizing.
From the third year onwards it became more exciting, but also more strenuous. Then we were allowed to accompany junior doctors in the hospital. We also had to spend whole working days in the hospital and go home in the evenings to study.
I realized that in a few years we would be taking over from those residents. The burden and responsibility of caring for the patients began to weigh on me.
Back then, our final year medical students warned us about life after graduation. They told us about the horrific hours that came with being on call, including working two days straight without a break.
I started to worry about whether I would be up to the challenge. I remember asking myself, “Can I physically handle this? Can I mentally handle this kind of challenge? Do I have the resilience and skills to do this?”
Dealing with long working hours and the feeling of burnout
Choo first considered leaving the public health system after spending 19 consecutive working days in the hospital. Faith Choo
Before college, I did internships in hospitals and worked with general practitioners in their offices, but even that didn’t give me a comprehensive insight into the role.
The biggest change after graduating was the long working hours. I soon started to feel the effects of the demanding daily routine, staff shortages and feelings of burnout.
The thought of leaving first occurred to me after working at the hospital for 19 days straight.
At some point, you feel more tired than the patients in the hospital. Patients also get the chance to rest, but doctors have to make life-and-death decisions during a mission.
You still have a lot of responsibility and want to do the best for your patients, but you physically can’t because you’re so exhausted – and you don’t feel safe.
It became clear to me at that time that I could not do such a job permanently.
Life as a medical graduate in Singapore is not easy
In Singapore, our medical degree is heavily subsidised by the government. After graduation, students are required to complete a five-year service obligation. This is in addition to the one-year internship that takes place immediately after graduation.
In a good week, residents work about 60 hours, but sometimes it can be 80 or 90 hours.
This means you may spend a large portion of your late twenties to thirties working just to meet your bond obligations.
This wasn’t for me. I didn’t think I was physically or mentally capable of completing this journey.
Although canceling my security deposit and leaving would then result in a repayment of over $375,000 – about $75,000 a year.
I felt there was no point in destroying my health in the long term for money that I could recoup.
Surprisingly, my family, friends and colleagues supported my decision to leave. When I blogged about it, I received overwhelming support for the move.
Take a career break and set a new course
Choo took a career break after leaving the public health service in July 2022. Faith Choo
After my resignation in July 2022, I took a career break to recover from burnout and traveled for about three months.
I now split my time between working as a locum doctor and studying for my degree in mental health. I don’t currently crave a full-time job because I enjoy the freedom that locum work brings.
For example, I can take a vacation and get started at any time and have the choice of whether I want to work in a clinic or as a telemedicine specialist.
However, I would not mind pursuing new ventures that encroach on my areas of interest, such as lifestyle medicine or mental and preventive health.
Frankly, I don’t think it’s easy for governments around the world to tackle the problem of burnout and fatigue in healthcare.
Younger doctors today want a work-life balance and aren’t afraid to talk about it. We know we can’t set ourselves on fire to keep others warm.
